


Aliens, Refugees, and Larry

by Zee_McZed



Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: Broken Masquerade, Comfortverse, Gen, Worldbuilding and character exploration, dorks being dorks, government shenanigans, multiple AUs, vlogging - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22615378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zee_McZed/pseuds/Zee_McZed
Summary: The masquerade is broken. The President has just announced that aliens exist and live among us. In a government facility, refugees from other worlds try to acclimate to a new reality.And in the midst of it, a dork named Larry and an alien named Grace (also a dork, though this is marginally less relevant) start a vlog.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. Introit

The two stood opposite each other, each with a glowing hand outstretched. His was steel and composite and artificial muscle fiber. Hers was flesh and bone. Silence reigned between them as the rain came down in a thin drizzle, just barely more than a mist. The smell of ozone and the faint crackle of energy was far more noticeable.

“You aren’t from here.” She spoke first. 

“Neither are you.” His voice was just  _ barely  _ audible. A long beat passed. “And you’re sneaking around the same way I am. We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”

“I doubt that. Your reputation  _ precedes you. _ ” The crackling from her arm grew louder as the glow intensified. 

“It’s a bit misleading.”

“Tell me about it.” Another long moment. Was it a Mexican Standoff if there were only two people there? It felt like it. God, she was exhausted, and she was missing time again. Wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten there. His eyes narrowed, all pupil. Hers remained impassive. One flex. One flex was all it would take. The spell was there, prepared, ready, waiting for the last phoneme for the ritual to be complete and for the mana to be channeled and for the lightning to race through him and it would be  _ so easy  _ and  _ she knew what he was.  _

_ Because he was the her that deserved that reputation.  _

Wasn’t he?

His head tilted. Squint relaxed. “...you’re about to pass out.”

“Threats will get you nowhere.”

“No, seriously, your left eye is  _ wandering  _ and your - shit!” He jumped back as she stumbled. The spell was still channeled, still holding. Her eyes flickered. She bit her hand, forcing herself awake. His hand had dropped. He took a knee. “What happened to you?”

“I…” She slid away from him. He did not move. For a second, she thought she saw pity in his eye.

That hurt worse than everything else.

And that was when she heard footsteps, and heard a loud CRACK, and the world spun.


	2. Salty Crackers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day -1. Salty Crackers.

_ My fellow Americans, we… can’t even take this as a shock. We’ve all known that this was going to be a facet of our reality after the last few years. Magic is real. Magic is  _ weird.  _ Magic is something that we can be comprehend, not some crazy unknowable and unfathomable force that will drive you insane if you start to mess with it. By the same token, extraterrestrial life is real, and is a lot more ordinary than you’d think. There are five thousand extraterrestrials, most of whom are natural born US citizens, in Chicago alone. They want the same things we want. Security. Happiness. A place to raise their children in peace. They immigrated the same way our forefathers did, looking for a place free of tyranny, a place where they could  _ exist  _ peacefully. The tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free… the words written on Lady Liberty… well, those words don’t include the phrase “homo sapiens only” anywhere. I’ve already signed legislation officially extending all human rights to any sapient, sentient extraterrestrial race. Including citizenship. So to our brothers out there, be they Uryom or- _

“Can you believe this?!” Larry goggled, staring at the TV. He hadn’t changed much in four years. An IT degree under his belt, a little bit of a fuzzy goatee, and  _ slightly  _ more mature, but still very much Larry. Grace nodded, tapping a few more cards in a combo that he knew by heart already. Her turn would be at least another ten minutes. 

“Yep. Sure can.” President Stewart was wrapping up his schpiel, soon to be replaced on the tube by another talking head. She fired off a text to Edward.  _ Now’s okay, right?  _ The immediate response was  _ If you must. _

“Yeah, but… wow. All these years, we were  _ right.” _

“Well, right _ ish _ . You were convinced we were invading, you know?” Grace snorted. “A bunch of aliens opening gyro joints and running call centers barely constitutes an invasion.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Larry sighed, leaning back. His phone buzzed. He glanced at it, rolled his eyes, and turned it off. “Rich is gonna be insufferable though.”

“Where’s he been, anyway?”

“Colorado.” Larry snorted. “Running that dumb podcast. He keeps-” His eyes suddenly shot wide. He scooted back a few inches in his chair. Well. That was about the response that Grace expected. She gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Finally processed the  _ we  _ in that last sentence, didn’t ya?”

“Uhhhh…” He looked like he was about to spontaneously combust. Grace was used to that expression, but in a much  _ happier  _ way, whenever she wore that tiny little slip for Sarah and Tedd. Hee. 

“Boo.” He didn’t jump. 

“Are you straight up screwing with me now?”

“Well,  _ duh,  _ but I am an alien. Or… like,  _ half  _ alien. And a quarter squirrel!” Grace beamed, ignoring the stares from Duck and Bill from the other table. For a long moment, Duck just stared at her. His jaw hung open. 

“...oh my god you must hate me.”

“If I did, I would have had Justin ban you  _ years  _ ago.” 

“Offer still stands.” Justin called from the back room. 

“NO.” Grace called back.

“Fiiine.” Justin sighed melodramatically enough to be heard in the front of the shop. 

“But - all that stuff I was saying about alien invasions and - and breeding programs and -”

“I choose to believe that was all influenced by your terrible taste in sci-fi and leave it there.” 

“So your - uh- your  _ people  _ are like - like the whole Star Trek alien thing? Like -  _ almost human,  _ or-” Grace grinned. She closed her eyes… and shrank. And felt her ears grow out to the length they should be, her antennae grow in, her fur fill out. She felt warm, and strong, and  _ like herself  _ and  _ all that in public.  _

It. Felt.  _ Awesome _ . 

“It’s kinda complicated.” Larry was staring. It was not a look of fear or attraction or revulsion or  _ anything  _ that Grace could pinpoint besides  _ utter fascination.  _

“Well, I mean.” Larry drummed his fingers on the table, scooping his cards up. “I got time.”


End file.
